The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for bombing a Shiite Muslim mosque in Afghanistan, which killed at least 46 people and injured scores of others on Friday.
The claim, carried by the Daesh-linked Aamaq news agency and cited by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant postings, came just hours after the blast tore through the packed mosque in the city of Kunduz Friday.
The attack was the latest in a series of Daesh bombings and shootings that have targeted Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, as well as religious institutions and members of the country’s minority Shiites.
The explosion tore through the mosque in the city of Kunduz during Friday prayers, the highlight of the Muslim religious week. It blew out windows, charred the ceiling and scattered debris and twisted metal across the floor. Rescuers carried one body out on a stretcher and another in a blanket. Bloodstains covered the front steps.
Area resident Hussaindad Rezayee said he rushed to the mosque when he heard the explosion, just as prayers started. “I came to look for my relatives, the mosque was full," he said.
In the past, the Taliban managed to contain the Daesh threat in tandem with United States and Afghan airstrikes. Without these, it remains unclear whether the Taliban can suppress what appears to be a growing Daesh footprint. The terrorists, once confined to the east, have penetrated the capital of Kabul and other provinces with new attacks.
This comes at a critical moment, as the Taliban attempt to consolidate power and transform their guerrilla fighters into a structured police and security force. But while the group attempts to project an air of authority through reports of raids and arrests of Daesh members, it remains unclear if it has the capability to protect soft targets, including religious institutions.
In Kunduz, police officials were still picking up the pieces Friday at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque.
Citing preliminary reports, the deputy Taliban police chief of Kunduz province, Dost Mohammad Obaida, said more than 100 people had been killed or wounded, and that he believed the dead outnumbered the wounded.
Hours after his initial statement, Taliban spokesperson Bilal Karimi told The Associated Press (AP) that 46 worshipers were killed and 143 wounded in the explosion. He said an investigation was underway to determine the perpetrators.
The death toll of 46 is the highest in an attack since foreign troops left Afghanistan.
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan condemned the attack as “part of a disturbing pattern of violence” targeting religious institutions.
Obaida, the deputy police chief, pledged to protect minorities in the province. “I assure our Shiite brothers that the Taliban are prepared to ensure their safety,” he said.
A prominent Shiite cleric, Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi, condemned the attack and called on the Taliban to provide security for the Shiites of Afghanistan. “We expect the security forces of the government to provide security for the mosques since they collected the weapons that were provided for the security of the worship places,” he said.
The new tone struck by the Taliban, at least in Kunduz, is in sharp contrast to the well-documented history of Taliban fighters committing a litany of atrocities against minorities, including Hazaras. The Taliban, now feeling the weight of governing, employed similar tactics to those of Daesh during their 20-year insurgency, including suicide bombings and shooting ambushes.
And they have not halted attacks on Hazaras.
Earlier this week, a report by Amnesty International found the Taliban unlawfully killed 13 Hazaras, including a 17-year-old girl, in Daykundi province, after members of the security forces of the former government surrendered.
In Kunduz province, Hazaras make up about 6% of the province’s population of nearly 1 million people. The province also has a large ethnic Uzbek population that has been targeted for recruitment by Daesh.
Friday's attack was the third to target a place of worship or religious study in a week.
Daesh has also claimed two deadly bombings in Kabul, including the horrific Aug. 26 bombing that killed at least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel outside of Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport in the final days of the chaotic U.S. pullout from Afghanistan.
